


Six Months

by Peannaireacht



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, POV Second Person, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-14 21:01:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13016058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peannaireacht/pseuds/Peannaireacht
Summary: "What the hell are you doing here?"(AU) A rocky reunion between Juno and Peter if things had gone differently at the end of Juno Steel and the Final Resting Place.





	Six Months

“What the hell are you doing here?”  
“Aren’t you happy to see me, darling?” The clock continues to tick, and despite the darkness of your apartment you see that familiar smile dancing on his face. Sighing, you flick a switch on the wall and your sorry excuse of an apartment is brought into stark detail. Sat on your armchair, in the middle of your sitting room is Peter Nureyev. He’s thinner than he used to be, and despite the coy smile, his eyes dart around the room as if he could see the shadows moving.  
You walk into the room, hanging up your police badge and dropping your work bag to one side.  
“Not particularly, maybe just after you left, but not now,” You sigh “What are you doing here Peter”  
“Well I was in town and thought I should drop in-”  
“After not a single word for six months-” you interrupt, voice raised  
“-And I knew you’d just be getting of from work-”  
“It’s 10 at night, how did you even get in-?” You’re both nearly shouting now  
“And I need your help!” The retort forming on your lips falls apart at the desperation clear in his voice.  
He clears his throat, “And, I still have my key,”  
“Say that again,” You say.  
“I still have my key,” A smirk plays on his lips.  
“Not that,” you snap “Before that. Repeat what you said,”  
His smile falters at this, and only now you notice the dark bags under his eyes.  
“I- I need your help.”

 

“So let me get this straight,” you say for the third time tonight, this time behind the wheel of your car. “You’ve made the wrong sort of enemies, again. Taken up a false identity, again. And spent the last six months on the run from one of the biggest crime bosses in the city.”  
“Biggest in the state actually.” You take your eyes of the road for a moment to shoot him a glare “Not that that’s important right now,” he hastily adds.  
“And because of you getting into all of this bother,” you continue “that you said you were finished with by the way,you need me to break into my boss’ office?”  
“Exactly, just five minutes in that office and I’ll have all I need. Then to the airport and I’m out of your hair,”  
You hum. Drum your fingers against the steering wheel. The windscreen wipers continue their rhythmic motions as the rain pours down. There isn’t a silence in the car, you can hear him breathing softly beside you and the hum of the engine underneath your feet, but the non-silence drags on.  
“I’m sorry,” he says quietly.  
“I don’t want to hear it.”  
“But-”  
“Please,” you plead “not now.”

You shift your weight from one foot to the other as Peter stoops over Captain Khan’s desk tapping away at the chief’s computer.  
“Why did I let you do this?” You whisper-shout at him, not taking your eyes from the door.  
“Because of my roguish good looks?” he drawls, all the while fingers flying over keys.  
“No. And shut up, someone will hear you.”  
“It’s nearly midnight dearest, no one here but you and me.” His voice seems closer now, and the typing noises have stopped. You keep your eyes trained on the door.  
“And besides,” you feel him place a hand on your shoulder “You can carry your own weight.”  
You feel heat rising in your cheeks and wait a moment too long to brush his hand away.  
“Keep those to yourself” you say, your lips twitching upward.

1 AM. It flashes red across the car dashboard. The radio plays low in the background, with the occasional crackle of static coming through. Peter leans back in his seat, lazily tapping his foot to the beat. Passing under street lights bathes the car in an orange glow, if only momentarily. You’re lost in the moment, lost between its newness and familiarity, and need to remind yourself that you’re driving him to the airport not back home. You pass a road sign, thirty minutes until your destination. Then this beautiful nightmare is all over.  
“Why?” you say, voice barely above a whisper, but he still hears it. You keep your eyes firmly on the road, but still feel his eyes on you.  
A moment passes, then another.  
Your eyes begin to sting and your vision blurs  
“Okay fine! If you don’t want to talk about-”  
“Please,” he pleads, and there’s a quiver in his voice that you’ve never heard before. “Just give me a second,”

A deep inhale  
“I was scared,” he begins. You scoff “Not for me, for you. I know I said I put my past behind me, but it has a way of catching up on you.”  
He pauses here and you can almost see his eyes darting from side to side, trying to find the best words, just like the proposal.  
“I knew, that if I was around you wouldn’t be safe.” His voice was taut, like a string pulled so tight it could break at any moment. “So I left, to tie up loose strings and to cut those that were tied around me.”  
A pause  
“I should’ve done it earlier, I should’ve told you.”  
“You really should have,” you say, voice thick. “Phones are a thing you know.”  
You hear a faint stilted exhalation from your right, the ghost of a laugh  
“Would you believe if I said I lost mine?”  
“Not a chance,”  
“You were always the smart one.” He pauses ”You still are.”  
Now it’s your turn to let out a small laugh.

The car pulls up at the airport. With each take off you feel the car shudder, but you can’t seem to find the strength to move.  
You turn to Peter, he’s staring out the window,as if trying to spot the differences between the stars above and the planes crossing the sky.  
“You could come with me” he says, still facing away, “I’m guessing you still keep your ‘going off the radar’ bag in the back?”  
The slight smile that you had is gone in an instant. He turns back to you  
“Come on, one more adventure for the two of us,” He’s smiling but it doesn’t seem to reach his eyes, they’re staring straight at you desperate to hear your answer.  
You shake your head and his smile falls. You reach out and take his hand in yours.  
“I’m not ready yet, and I don’t think you are too,” At this he starts to blink rapidly, he brings up his other hand to wipe at his eyes.  
“When did you get so wise?” he says, voice weak  
“I’ve had a lot of time,”  
You squeeze his hand and he grips back firm.  
“Call me this time, don’t just let yourself in unannounced in six months time.” He laughs at this  
“I will,” he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the key, holding it out towards you “Maybe I should give this back.  
“No,” you say using your other hand to close Peter’s around the key, “I want to try again Peter, but in a while.”  
Tears are flowing down his face now. Then pulling up your hand he places the gentlest of kisses against your knuckles.  
“Me too, me too.”


End file.
